


Date Mai

by Toad_Town



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club, NormalBoots
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mimi's a bitch, Questioning Sexuality, What everyone wanted, gayy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-18 04:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7298791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toad_Town/pseuds/Toad_Town
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of any of the guys, Hana takes Mai to the flower festival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I finished Asagao Academy and, like EVERYBODY who played it, wanted to date Mai. But since I can’t, I decided writing one is the next best thing, apparently. I always thought that dating Mai would be a good completion bonus, so if this was in the game, it would only be accessible after viewing every other ending. Chapter 1 would play the same way, and if you say “some friend you are” to Mai, the route would be locked out.

“Hey, Hana, the Flower Festival’s coming up,” Mai says.

“Already?”

She giggles. “Yeah! In like, half a week. Have you decided who you’re taking?”

I run through all the Normal Boots Club boys in my head. Jon is kind and caring, but he seemed too wrapped up in the play. PBG is easygoing, but with the way he looked at me, I’m not sure he likes me. Satch is smart and mature, but he seems hard to get close too. Shane hates me, Paul causes major destruction, Jirard doesn’t seem to like me that way, and Mai would kill me if I ask Jared.

“Um,” I start. “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. As friends.”

She pauses for a second, then smiles broadly. “Yeah! That sounds awesome!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Jared already turned you down?”

“Three times.”

I chuckle. Although it would be nice to get close to the boys, I have all year for that. For now I think it’s best to just hang out with Mai at the festival, maybe meet up with some of the guys for a little while.

One day before the big event, the festival is all the boys seem to want to talk about. “Who’s everyone taking?” Jared asks. Shane grunts.

“I’m probably just going alone,” PBG says.

“Same here,” Jon says. “But I’m pretty sure Paul is taking Nick and Josh.”

In the end, it seemed like Satch was the only one with a date, a girl from is electronics club. Mai and I had already told them we were going together.

Finally, the day of the festival arrived. Mai and I both got dressed up in Yukatas, both of us trying not to look at each other until we’re both ready. After almost an hour of getting dressed, doing our hair, and putting on makeup, we turn to face each other.

“You look so cute!” Mai squeals. I blush. Before I can compliment her in return, she shouts “let’s go!” grabs my hand, and we speedwalk to the festival.

Her hands are very warm.


	2. Mai Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters should be getting longer from here on. Hope you enjoy.

Mai and I walk to the flower festival, and the amount of people here surprises me. With how isolated Asagao is, I forgot that the festival was for the town of Higanbana.

“So what do you want to do first?” Mai asks. I can almost feel her incredible energy through her voice.

“Um…” I hadn’t made a plan of where I wanted to go.

“Let’s get Taiyaki! Then play some games!”

“Okay!” I can tell that she’s trying not to sprint so she doesn’t leave me behind. We get in line right behind two boys wearing Hidden Block jackets.

“Hello!” Caddy says. Ian mutters a greeting.

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Have you seen Satch anywhere?” The dark haired boy asks. “I need him to help me fix… something.”

“Don’t tell him.”

“Come on, Moosey, it’s not a big deal.”

“Never call me that.” Mai and I giggle at them as they argue throughout the rest of the wait.

We wander towards the games, and hear a familiar voice.

“Ech! I don’t like em! I don’t like goblins!” Jon shouts at a claw machine as PBG doubles over in laughter.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Jon’s been trying to win a puppy, and managed to win a goblin. Twice.”

Mai and I try the claw machines. I manage to win a stuffed turtle, and gift it to Mai.

As the festival reaches its end, Mai leads me to the bonfire. As we speed up to say hi so Satch and his date, Mimi cuts us off.

“Really, Mai? Your date is pink hair?”

“Fuck off.” The venom in her voice surprises me.

“Well, Hana, I should tell you that she’s only here to get in your pants.”

“Wha—”

“Have a nice evening!”

Mai’s face falls.

“What was that about?”

She sighs. “Remember when I told you Mimi and I used to be friends?”

“Yeah…”

“At the end of last year, I told her I was bisexual, because she was my best friend and I expected her to be supportive.” I can hear her trying to hold back tears. I’d never seen this side of her. “Instead she laughed at me and called me a freak and a slut and said she never wanted to see me again.”

“Oh my god…” I pull Mai into a hug. She rests her head on my shoulder and I feel her crying.

“Want to just go back to our room?” She nods. I help her back to primrose house.

By the time we get back to the dorm, she’s calmed down a bit. Tears are still running down her face, but she’s stopped sobbing. I feel so bad for her; if she’s still like this now just remembering this, how must she have felt back then?

She crawls into her bed without getting out of her yukata. I turn off the lights, change into my pajamas, and get into bed.

“Hana?”

“?”

“You don’t… have a problem with me being bisexual, do you?”

“Of course not! Mai, you’re my best friend—”

“That’s what Mimi said.” Her voice lacks its usual energy, and is barely recognizable.

“If Mimi was that mean to you, then she was a terrible friend. Mai, when I say you’re my best friend, I mean it, and it doesn’t matter to me who you love.”

She’s silent for a second, then I hear her climb out of her bunk. She wraps her arms around me, and I hug her back. “I’m always here for you, Mai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mimi is terrible.


	3. The dream

The next day, Mai’s regular energy comes back. I spend the next two weeks practicing for the tournament and working on Ms. Shizuka’s project with PBG.

“Come on, Nario would totally win in a fight against Sanic,” Jon insists.

“We’re not still on this, are we?” Jared sighs. “I thought we settled this in Super Bash Sisters. Repeatedly. Regardless, Jon’s right.”

“You’re both high,” Paul responds. “Sanic’s faster, and he’s got a homing attack. Nario wouldn’t be able to touch him.”

“If he had a fire flower—”

“No fire flower!” Nick interjects. “We’re just talking basic one on one fight, no items.”

The argument rages on, everyone except for Shane, Mai, and I giving input. After lunch, we head back to Shizuka’s room, Jon and PBG discussing how ridiculous Continue? was being.

They ask for Luke and Ian’s input back at the room, and get into another argument until Shizuka separates them.

“Five pages about on-rail shooters, due at the end of class.”

“What—”

“Five pages, due at the end of class.”

I take out a pen and start writing. Mai doodles Jared’s face on a piece of paper, surrounding it with “Mai Knabenbauer” in pink cursive.

After spacing out a couple times, I finish the essay and hand it back a little before class ends. The Nario-Sanic debate is forgotten by dinner, and we all complain about the Star Wars prequels for a while. After working on a pile of homework, I gratefully crash on the bed.

Suddenly, I’m at the tournament. I helped lead Normal Boots to victory, and they present me with a jacket. We charge out of the arcade, and find ourselves in the clubroom. The nine members of the club take the gold boots off the shelf. Mai runs into the clubroom and pulls me into a hug, then I kiss her on the lips.

Then it’s nighttime, and I walk into my dorm room. I find Mai laying on my bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties, her bra unstrapped and barely covering her. She smiles broadly at me and moves to uncover herself.

I gasp and sit upright in my head, breathing heavily. I hear Mai shift above me. I try to focus on what my dream meant. Winning the tournament was obvious, but after that I kissed Mai, like it was just an everyday thing. Then I saw her basically naked in my bed.

What the fuck, Hana?

I look at the time. It’s one in the morning. I just need to go back to sleep and try to figure this out after the sun comes up.

I leave for class before Mai, hoping to find Ian. Unfortunately, he’s already sitting with Luke. I take my seat behind them, and Mai walks in a few minutes later. My mind returns to the dream, and I see her half naked on my bed. I blink and shake my head. It’s just a dream, dreams are weird.

She distracts me all throughout class. I smell her watermelon conditioner, and hear every note of her lilting laugh. I almost jump back when she brushes my hand with hers.

I need to talk to Ian. When class ends, I cut him off and tell him I have to speak to him in private.

“What?”

“How did you know you were gay?” I blurt.

He shrugs. “I just kinda… realized. Why?”

I explain the dream, and weird feelings I’d been having all morning.

“It might just be a dream, and the feelings will probably go away soon. Just ask yourself this: are you actually attracted to Mai?”

“I—”

“You don’t have to answer now. Just think about it.”

“Thanks, Ian.” Both for giving me advice and not being sarcastic. He nods and walks away.

I focus on the question. Am I attracted to Mai?


	4. Questioning

I find her attractive. She has long, flowing red hair, a lot of energy, and an adorable laugh. On top of that, she’s supportive and always there to help. However, it doesn’t mean I’m attracted to her. I decide to wait a couple days. A couple very confusing days. I found myself wishing Mai was there when she wasn’t, laughing too much at her jokes, and she made several appearances in my dreams, though none of them were as R-rated as the first one.

“Hey, Hana?”

“Yeah?”

“Even though Jared shot me down when I asked him to the flower festival, I’ve calmed down a lot since then. Should I, like, ask him to dinner or something?”

Please don’t, I think.

“Um…” I start. “Like, a date?”

“Of course a date!”

“I don’t know… I mean, yeah, you’ve calmed down, but he probably still remembers you as pretty overwhelming. I’d give it some more time.”

“But what if he goes on a date with someone else? What if he really likes her?”

“Mai, do you think it’s time to try asking him out again?”

“Well…”

“Is anything I say going to change your mind?”

“Good point.” She heads to the door. “Wish me luck!”

I want to call out and stop her, but it’s too late. I wait anxiously for her to come back. Why am I so upset? Do I want to date her? Am I gay? Was it this hard for Mai to figure out?

I groan audibly. I should talk to Mai about this, but I’m so worried it’ll be really uncomfortable and awkward. I know she’d help me figure it out, but then there’s the fact that this all started with me having dreams about her.

Another question enters my head. If I do ask her out, will she even say yes? I know Mai swings both ways, but she’s asking a boy on a date right now. I’m briefly disappointed at myself as I realize I’m hoping he’ll shoot her down. Would she say no because she’s still crushing on Jared? Even if she said yes, would she still be hung up on—

“He said no,” she says. She seems a little upset, but not too broken up about it.

“Sorry.”

“Eh, he’ll say yes eventually.”

I really, really don’t want him to say yes. I need to talk about this.

“Mai, how did you realize you were bi?”

She shrugs. “Eventually I started getting crushes on girls, instead of just guys. Didn’t take too long to figure out. Why?”

“Uh… no reason.”

She grins devilishly. “What’s up, Hana?”

“I… I’ve had some weird dreams.”

“About who?”

“Just, um, random girls. Some celebrities.”

“You’re a terrible liar. Anyway, they’re just dreams. They might not even mean anything. What happened in them? How many bases?”

“B-bases?”

“Come on, Hana, you’ve got to know about the bases. First base is making out, second base is—”

“I hit no bases.”

“So it probably didn’t mean anything. How many where there?”

“I thought it didn’t mean anything?”

She shrugs.

“Probably a dozen or so.”

“Any about me?” she grins.

I avoid eye contact. “Like, maybe one or two.”

“You’re so bad at lying!” She’s grinning broadly. “What was I doing?”

“I’m going to bed.”

“Sweet dreams! I hope you score!”

I groan and bury my head under my blanket. Mai stops giggling after a couple minutes, and I can focus again. Mai didn’t seem too upset about Jared rejecting her again. She also was oddly excited about the concept of… uh… sleep banging me, but she was probably just teasing. Probably.

The question remains. Do I want to date her? I conjure up images of her, some from dreams and some I create. Mai and I having dinner together. Mai and I holding hands. Mai and I at the beach. Mai and I together.

Yes. I do want to date her.

How do I ask?


	5. Wingwomen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm BA-ACK

The next morning is Saturday. Mai has a volleyball game early that morning, so she’s gone before I wake up.

I go to breakfast early, trying to figure out how I should ask out Mai. Well, not so much how I would ask her, I was just going to take her to dinner, but I need to work up the confidence to ask her.

I repeat the phrase over and over in my head. Mai, do you want to go to dinner with me? I’m almost more scared of asking the question than hearing an answer.

Jirard and Satch are the first to arrive, as normal.

“Hey, Hana!”

“You’re up early.”

“Hi, guys.”

“Are you ok? You look nervous,” Satch observes.

“Y-yes, I’m fine.”

“You’re not worried about that test yesterday, are you?” Jirard asks. “PBG told us about that.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s it.” Lovely. Now I’m worried about two things.

I finish the pancakes and waffles just as Shane and Jon enter the cafeteria. “I’ll see you guys later. I have, um, homework.”

“See ya.”

I walk back to my room, greeting Paul on the way out. After arriving back at my dorm, I pace around nervously. It’s 7:30, and she isn’t supposed to come back until after 9:00.

Volleyball games are weirdly early here.

I try to write an essay on the history of the Mii civilization, but after trying to watch a Gaijin Goombah video for some background I get sidetracked.

My phone goes off. I find myself hoping it’s Mai. It’s an email from PBG, asking me to review his half of the project. I’d finished my half a week ago, so I’ve been reviewing it and fixing his countless grammatical errors since he’d started. The content was admittedly solid, though. I give it one last read through, happy to get something off my mind.

Finally, it’s 9:00. I look out the window. 9:15. 9:30. She’s usually back by now. Finally, just after 9:40, she runs through the door, grinning.

“We won!”

“Mai, that’s awesome!”

“I need a shower.” She sprints to the bathroom before I can say anything else.

I sigh. I need to ask her before I lose my nerve. After taking way too long in the shower, she finally returns to the room.

“Oh, man, that game was great. Those guys, they put up quite a fight, but—”

“Maidoyouwanttogoouttodinnerwithmetonight??” I say way too quickly.

“What?”

I take a deep breath. “Do you want to go out with me to dinner tonight?”

“Like a date?”

I nod.

She squeals excitedly and pulls me into a big hug. “Hana, I didn’t know you liked girls! I mean, I remember your dreams, but I didn’t—”

“I didn’t either!”

“Is it just girls, or…”

“I don’t know yet. I… this is all new to me, and I’m kind of overwhelmed, and—”

“Hana, it’s ok, it’s ok. I get it. It’s hard at first. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

I give her another hug. “Thanks, Mai.”

“So where are we going?”

“The Chinese food place that opened just off campus.”

“Awesome! Can’t wait.”

My phone buzzes. It’s PBG.

Hana! Need help! Soccer field! Bring Mai!

“PBG needs us, apparently.”

“Why?”

“No idea.” We sprint outside. The girl’s team is playing against Huniepop high right now, so we look around for PBG. He’s sitting by the bleachers on his phone.

“What’s going on?” He’s clearly not trying to draw any attention to himself, barely looking into his phone.

“See that brown haired girl with the sketchbook? On the other side of the field?”

We nod.

“That’s Danielle. I’ve had a crush on her since freshman year.”

“So why’d you call us?” I ask.

“Uh…”

“We’ll let you think on that for a while.”

“Oh! Okay, so if she’s into soccer, that means we have, like, a common interest. So, um…”

“You want us to go over there and talk to her?” Mai asks.

“Yeah! I mean, if that’s ok.”

“Sure! Hana?”

“Um. Sure, why not?”

“Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

We walk around the field and sit next to the brunette.

“Hey,” Mai says.

“Hello.” She doesn’t look up from the sketchbook.

“You like soccer?”

“Well, I didn’t think I did, but my roommate Cara made the team this year, so I’ve been watching her play. It’s actually pretty cool.”

I make a mental note to come watch Mai during her home games.

“So do you think you’ll be coming to more games?”

“I might.” She glances onto the field every once in a while, but mostly stays focused on her sketchbook.

“Well, maybe we’ll see you here.”

“Maybe.”

We report back to PBG. “She said she recently got into soccer because her roommate is on the team, and that she was interested in soccer, but she was barely paying attention to the game.”

“Hm. Thanks guys.”

“See you at lunch!”


	6. First date

I hear a knock at the door.

“Mai, can you—” I look around the room. “Mai?”

I put down the hair dryer and comb and go to the door. Mai stands on the other side, holding half a dozen pink flowers. “Heyo.”

“Mai! What’re you—”

“I’m picking you up for our date!”

“Oh! Um, I’m almost ready.”

She walks inside and looks for somewhere to put the flowers. Unable to find one, places them in the glass of water she was drinking from earlier.

I run the brush through my hair a few times, wipe off my glasses, and straighten the bow in my hair. “Ready!”

“Awesome.” She extends her hand for me to take.

“Um…”

She looks confused for a second, then realizes. “Oh, you’re not out yet, right. It’s cool, as far as anyone knows, we’re just two friends hanging out.”

Relief washes over me. “Thanks, Mai.”

We walk out of the dorms and towards the gate I entered on my first day here. A couple feet past the gate, I find her warm hand and grab it. She smiles at me and squeezes my hand. Her red hair dances in the warm breeze.

I open the door to the restaurant and hold it for her. We are seated by a woman a couple years older than us, and she gives us our menus. Mai smiles at me from across the table, and I smile back.

“So, first date, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m glad it’s with you.”

“I’m glad you asked. You’re the cutest girl in school!”

I blush. “That can’t be right. You’re definitely the cutest.”

“Come on, you’ve got pink hair, you can’t get cuter than that.”

I know it’s a compliment, but any comment about my hair makes it feel like my chest is on fire with anxiety.

Fortunately, the waitress comes over to take our order.

Mai quickly dives into her talkative, high-energy self, and I enjoy listening to her. She slows down a little while eating, but keeps telling the story of when her friend almost burned down the home ec room at her old school. Her rapid chatter perfectly complements my quiet personality.

We pay the bill, splitting it between us, and hold hands on the way back to Asagao.

“So, Normal Boots,” Mai starts. “You’re still planning to do that, right?”

“Of course!”

“Thought so. It’s just in the other routes… never mind. Practicing?”

“Yep!”

“Yeah, you got to rack up those tournament points to win. Don’t want too many though…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

We approach the gates to Asagao, and Mai suddenly let’s go of my hand.

“Why’d you—”

“It’s Mimi. And Kakusu, but I don’t think she really cares.”

I nod, and we walk past them onto campus. Mimi glares at us.

The sun is starting to set as we approach the dorms. Mai holds the door to our room open.

“Thanks, Hana. That was a lot of fun.” She closes the door behind us.

“Thanks for coming with me, we should do this again soon.”

“Definitely!” She leans down and kisses me gently on the cheek. I smile and blush like crazy.

She sits down at her computer and starts typing something. I glance at the side of the screen and see that the scroll bar is very small.

“What’re you working on?”

“You’ll see.”

I finish up my weekend homework, read one of the books Satch suggested, and go to bed. Mai stays up at her laptop.

The next morning, Mai’s asleep at her computer, resting her head in her arms in front of the keyboard. I look at the clock. It’s just before six, and still dark out.

I climb out of bed, and gently help her up. She mutters something, half-asleep, and wraps her arm around my shoulders. I escort her to my bed, and she immediately falls asleep. I climb up and sleep in hers, choosing not to read what she was writing on her computer.

She wakes up three hours later. “Hana?”

“Yeah?”

“Why am I in your bed?”

“You fell asleep at your computer, so I moved you somewhere more comfortable.”

I climb out of her bed, and she gets out of mine. “Ugh, I have to do the damn Shizuka assignment now.”

“Just now? It was due Friday.”

She shrugs. Not being a scholarship student seems nice.


End file.
